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St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.11.151.26 (talk) at 23:34, 13 December 2006 (→Airlines and destinations). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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FAA diagram of PIE

St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (IATA: PIE, ICAO: KPIE) is an airport in Pinellas County, Florida, which serves St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida in the USA.

While most scheduled commercial airline traffic in the Tampa Bay Area tends to fly in and out of Tampa International Airport, PIE remains a destination airport for low-cost and charter carries, notably several from Canada. The airport also serves as the gateway airport to Pinellas County.

Because of its lower cadence of operations, PIE is favored by private pilots and executive jets as a destination.

History

St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is located on the west shoreline of Tampa Bay north of St. Petersburg, the birthplace of commercial air transportation. Barely a decade after the Wright brothers' pioneer flight at Kitty Hawk, the first ticket for air travel was sold by the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line to a fare-paying passenger. This historic event on January 1, 1914, marked the beginning of commercial air transportation anywhere in the world and is commemorated by a plaque at St. Petersburg- Clearwater International Airport's terminal building. A replica of the Benoist amphibious airplane flown on the inaugural flight is displayed at the Airport.

Construction of the Airport at its present site started in March 1941. After Pearl Harbor, the airport, known as Pinellas Army Airfield, was used as a military flight-training base. The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group (Third Army Air Force) based P-40's and, later, P-51's here for the duration of World War II. A plaque dedicated at the airport terminal in 1994 by the P-51 fighter Pilots Association and Brigadier General James H. Howard, the only European Theater fighter pilot to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in WWII and the last wartime base commander of Pinellas Army Airfield, commemorates the airport's vital war role. A permanent exhibit honoring General Howard is located in the terminal.

After WWII, the Airport property was given to Pinellas County by the U.S. Government to operate as a commerical airport. It was originally called the Pinellas International Airport and given the Airport call letters, PIE.

Today, the St. Petersburg - Clearwater International Airport is a 2,000 acre fully certified facility with ILS-equipped 8,500-foot runway and two 5,500-foot runways. It is home of the busiest Coast Guard Air Station in the world. U.S. Customs, FAA-operated control tower and the Central Florida Region Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), the busiest in the U.S., are also important federal government services at the airport along with the Airport Industrial Park. The entire 2000-acre tract of the Airport is designated as a Foreign Trade Zone.

United Parcel Service, Air Cargo and General/Corporate Aviation are also major activities. The airport employs over 3,000 people and has an economic benefit of more than $400 million yearly to the Tampa Bay area. The airport includes a 24-hour Airport Rescue and Fire-Fighting (ARFF) Department (Index C), Facilities, Operations, Engineering, and Administrative personnel.

On August 11, 2006, Sun Country Airlines announced they would begin seasonal service to St. Petersburg from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport on November 20, 2006. Later that month, on August 25, 2006, Sunwing Airlines announced they would begin serving St. Pete from Toronto Pearson International Airport on December 15, 2006.

In September 2006, Allegiant Air announced siginficant scheduled service from St. Petersburg/Clearwater to destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Later that month, SkyValue announced they would begin serving St. Petersburg from Gary/Chicago International Airport, on December 20, 2006.

On November 13, 2006, CanJet Airlines also announced they would serve St. Petersburg/Clearwater internationally from Canada's Halifax International Airport beginning February 3, 2007, and also from Canada's Moncton International Airport beginning February 8, 2007.

Airlines and destinations

St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport has 1 Terminal and 14 gates: 1 - 12, 14

  • Allegiant Air
    • Allentown
    • Chattanooga
    • Chicago/Rockford
    • Columbia [begins December 14, 2006]
    • Fort Wayne [begins February 16, 2007]
    • Knoxville
    • Lansing [begins December 14, 2006]
    • Newburgh [ends January 11, 2007]
    • Peoria
    • Roanoke
    • South Bend
    • Springfield (MO)
    • Toledo
  • CanJet [Scheduled Charters]
    • Halifax [begins February 3, 2007]
    • Moncton [begins February 8, 2007])
  • USA 3000 Airlines
    • Chicago-O'Hare
    • Cleveland
    • Detroit
    • Newark
    • Philadelphia
    • Pittsburgh
    • St. Louis

Cargo carriers

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